With A Little Help From My Friends
by sarahw1984
Summary: Kurtofsky future fic. 10 years after high school, Dave is living in the UK when an unexpected person from his past becomes a part of his life again. Kurtofsky romance, David/Rachel friendship, original characters.
1. Prologue

_A/N: OK, I know I should be getting on with _Not His Type?_ but I've got real writer's block with that story and I've had an idea for this future fic rolling around my head for the last few days so I thought, what the hell? I'll have a bash at writing this and then see how I go. Will carry on with _Not His Type? _once the writer's block has abated!_

_So, as mentioned, this is a Kurtofsky future fic. It's AU from the end of Season 2 and is set about 10 years after high school graduation. I can't promise super regular updates since I'm really busy with uni but we'll see how it goes. Blaine's not really in this but, for the sake of the few bits that he is, I've kept him the same age as Kurt._

_Rated M for language and possible rude bits. I haven't decided yet._

**With A Little Help From My Friends**

**Prologue**

There had been a lot of surprises in David Karofsky's life. That the hyper-masculine football and hockey jock was gay had come as a bit of a shocker to him and everyone else. At least at first. Now being gay was as natural as breathing, but until he was seventeen and in his senior year of high school, Dave tried to fight it.

That Kurt Hummel managed to persuade Bland Anderson to transfer to McKinley high had come as a bit of a surprise too. And that this simple act had persuaded Dave that he should come out had also been a bolt from the blue. Dave had resigned himself to the fact that he could never be with Kurt and he knew it was his own fault, he accepted it. But seeing Kurt merrily skipping through the halls of McKinley hand in hand with Hair Gel had stirred up jealousy in Dave like nothing before. He wanted Kurt. He _needed _Kurt. And if coming out was what it took to win him over then that was that.

So Dave had come out to his parents and here was another big surprise. Although Dave had been nervous, he had honestly thought his parents would accept him after their initial shock. What he hadn't expected was to be given $200 "for food and stuff" and told he had thirty minutes to pack his bags and drive as far away from them as possible. As it turned out, Paul and Erin Karofsky were fine with people being gay as long as it wasn't their son.

It was getting dark and Dave had had nowhere to go. The experience had, understandably, put him off coming out to anyone else, so that ruled out his jock friends. He'd have to explain to them why he'd been kicked out and he couldn't face any more rejection. The only place he could think of was Kurt's, but Mr Hummel was hardly going to be understanding after what Dave had put his son through the previous year. So Dave had done the only thing he could think of. He drove to one of Lima's many parks, pulled up in the parking lot and slept in his truck. The next morning was a Friday and he went to school and showered in the locker rooms. No one knew anything was wrong and that night he went back to the same parking lot and settled in for the night.

He was woken early the next morning by an insistent tapping on the driver's side window. After getting his bearings, Dave had looked out and seen, just for another surprise (because he hadn't had enough lately), Rachel Berry standing there, hands on hips, glaring at him as if she had seen nothing more offensive in her life. Dave wound down the window.

"Not that I really care, but why are you sleeping in your car Karofsky? I live across the street and your truck's been parked here for, like, two nights now. If you're staking out my house to commit a hate crime against my dads I will have you arrested, you know."

And David Karofsky had done something a bit surprising himself. He burst into tears. He hadn't cried when he came out. He hadn't cried when his parents kicked him out but now, faced with the Rachel Berry Death Glare he couldn't hold it in any longer.

And it all came pouring out. Dave was gay. His parents had kicked him out. He was homeless. And no, he was not planning on committing a hate crime. Dave had expected many things but he had not expected Rachel Berry to pull open the driver's door and pull him into a tight hug. "Oh, David," she soothed. "Is that why you were so awful to Kurt?" Dave had nodded, sniffling into her shoulder, and Rachel had, with astonishing strength, pulled him out of the car and told him to get his bags and led him across the street to her house where she introduced him to her dads, Jonah and Matt. And here came the biggest surprise of Dave's life to that point, he found he had just moved in with Rachel Berry.

It turned out that Matt Berry was not too dissimilar to Dave. A basketball player at high school he had been unable to deal with his sexuality. Instead of bullying and acting out, though, Matt had become more and more introverted and depressed. One day deciding to end it all, he had driven his car out to a secluded spot, attached some rubber hosing to the exhaust and had set about ending it all. That is until Jonah Allen, a fellow high school student, had showed up. Dragging Matt from the car he had resuscitated him and Matt had told him the whole sorry tale. Jonah had confessed that he was gay too, that there was nothing wrong with it and he would keep Matt's secret until he was ready to tell. The two had become firm friends, eventually falling in love. Unable to legally marry, Jonah had changed his name to Berry anyway and the two had set about arranging Rachel's birth. Rachel knew this story inside and out and upon realising that Dave was in such a similar situation to Matt, she had forgiven his former bullying on the spot. Matt and Jonah also had great sympathy with Dave's predicament and offered him a place to stay, rent-free, for the rest of senior year. And so another surprise was to hit Dave, in less than 48 hours he had gone from being an only child with estranged parents, to the surrogate son of a gay couple and the surrogate (slightly) older brother of Rachel Berry.

Of course, it only took Jacob Ben Israel about a day to work out why David Karofsky was living with Rachel Berry's family. By Monday afternoon it was round the whole of McKinley that Dave was gay. Perhaps more surprising was that after the initial shock wore off, most people didn't care. Some of the jocks made a little more effort to cover up in the locker room and Sue Sylvester called him nothing but Sneaky Gay for the rest of the year, but beyond that there was little reaction. Perhaps this was down to Rachel and Azimio teaming up to Death Glare and threaten anyone who did say anything, but Dave didn't really care. Azimio's reaction had been worth its weight in gold. "You've never checked me out, have you?"

"No, Az."

"Why the fuck not? I'm a prime piece of meat!"

Azimio, it seemed, didn't care. As long as he could still beat Dave on _Call of Duty _and talk about football with him, it didn't matter to him who Dave found attractive.

In fact, the only thing that really hurt Dave was Kurt's almost total non-reaction. He was so wrapped up in Eyebrows that he barely noticed anything or anyone else, least of all Dave. But, all in all, things weren't too bad which was in itself surprising. Dave's friendship with Azimio was stronger than ever and his brother-sister relationship with Rachel was growing stronger every day. Dave was fiercely protective of the diva who amused him and irritated him in equal measure. She too adored him and trusted him with everything. Through Rachel, Dave grew closer to Finn Hudson and the other Glee club members, although he never joined, and he finished high school with a large group of genuine friends and a full football scholarship to Ohio State University.

Rachel had gone to New York to attend NYADA and the two had stayed as close as real brother and sister. When, after six months, Rachel and Finn had split up due to the long distance (Finn had stayed in Lima to work with Burt Hummel) it had been Dave who had hopped on the next flight to New York and had held her in his arms while she sobbed broken heartedly. Kurt, also in New York with Harry Potter, had simply sent a text that read: _Oh, dear. :-( Well we all knew it wouldn't last, didn't we?_ Any lingering feelings Dave may have had for Kurt were dissolved by his callousness. Rachel may well have known that she and Finn wouldn't last, but he was her first love and she was devastated.

Meanwhile, Dave enjoyed a freedom at college he had never experienced before. His degree in sports science and sociology was something he enjoyed immensely and he loved being able to be open about who he was. He even had a few relationships. Never anything too serious, but relationships nonetheless. However, post-college brought new problems. He did not want to play football professionally but found himself unable to get a job. He moved back in with Matt and Jonah on a temporary basis but did not want to stay in Lima, let alone sponge off them.

And then one night six months after they'd graduated college, Rachel called from New York. She had been struggling herself, working as a waitress while she auditioned for parts in chorus lines but now she had an idea.

"There's this TV talent show in the UK, _I'm the Greatest Star_ and it's trying to cast a new Fanny Brice for a West End revival of _Funny Girl_. I'm going to fly to London to audition. Want to come with me?"

So, with nothing left to lose, David flew out to London with Rachel Berry for her audition. At first they were only going to be there for a week. But then Rachel got through her audition, then she made the last twenty, and then the last ten. And before Dave knew it he was renting a tiny studio flat in London and working in a council office while Rachel Berry won the hearts of the British public. By the end of the series of live shows, Rachel had taken the UK by storm and had won the role of her dreams. After she started rehearsals for the show, Dave continued to live with her in her luxury London flat but he still wasn't completely happy. Despite making new friends, learning to play rugby and developing a great knowledge of real ales, he wanted to have a "proper" job, doing something he was trained to do.

And then, one day, about a year after he moved to the UK, he found it. Liverpool City Council in the North West of England were looking for pitches for new community projects to work with troubled teenagers from deprived backgrounds. David put together a pitch that would see him and a team of colleagues working with these kids through sport. This would be after-school and weekend clubs where they could learn rugby, cricket, basketball, and other sports – just not football (Dave had been living in the UK long enough to learn not to call it soccer anymore). He felt football had a bad influence, with rowdy crowds and bad behaviour encouraged, so he wouldn't use that. But other sports would be a way of teaching discipline, communication, teamwork and other skills that the kids could take into the real world.

Dave's pitch was, much to his surprise, a complete success and before he knew it he was moving up to Liverpool to start his new job. It was ideal, he was doing what he'd always wanted to do, while still being only a two-hour train journey from Rachel. After a week of living in a hostel, Dave answered an advert for a flat-share just outside the city centre. Helen was a recent graduate the same age as Dave, who would be starting her PhD come September. She needed someone to share her two bedroom flat which was both stunning and affordable. Dave clicked with Helen straight away and before long he found he had a second sister in addition to Rachel.

Still living with Helen four years later, Dave could back and smile at the many surprises his life had thrown at him over the last eleven years – even the bad ones. But nothing would prepare him for the surprises that were to come.

_A/N: Wow. That ended up a bit longer than I anticipated for a prologue and may be a bit information overload. Something's I've left purposefully vague for the sake of revealing them later and there will also be more dialogue in future chapters. I think the story will be entirely Dave's POV with Rachel and Helen as prominent characters. And, of course, a certain Kurt Hummel will be making a reappearance eventually..._


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N: First of all, thanks to Spooky Bibi, the pink post-it, awkward innuendo, Candybites, M, PowerLad and lisacreature for your reviews! Glad you all like it and that people seem to like the Rachel/Dave friendship. lisacreature, don't worry, I don't really want people to like Kurt at the start of this story, but he should become more likeable later on. It is a Kurtofsky fic after all!_

_I still have writer's block over **Not****His****Type?**so I'm just going to continue with this fic for a bit and see how things go! Although I have got some ideas for that Kurtofsky fic so it might be sooner rather than later!_

**With A Little Help From My Friends**

**Chapter One**

Dave stood at the kitchen window of his fourteenth-floor flat, gazing across the Liverpool skyline as he nursed his hangover, sipping from a large mug of tea. Helen was shuffling around behind him making sausage sandwiches and occasionally muttering about never drinking again. In the four years he'd lived with her he'd heard her say this at least once a month. In spite of the feeling that his head was going to implode, he smiled.

Over on the sofa of their open plan kitchen/living room, lay Chris who was snoring loudly. In another world, Chris would have been Helen's brother-in-law. Six months before Dave came to live with her, Helen's fiancé, Rick, had died in a car crash. After helping each other through their grief, Helen and Chris – Rick's younger brother – had stayed close, becoming good friends. Helen had never said anything, but Dave suspected that she was in love with the scruffy young man currently wrapped in a duvet on their sofa. He often suspected that Chris felt the same way, but neither of them, it seemed, would do anything about it. Dave imagined they felt it would be betraying Rick's memory. Dave, on the other hand, thought that if it had been he who had died, he would want nothing more than the two people he loved most to be happy, even if that meant with each other.

Dave was pulled from his reverie by the sight of Rachel entering the room. She had stayed in his bed last night and was currently wearing an eclectic mix of pyjamas, one of Dave's hoodies and a pair of sunglasses.

"Sambuca," she declared to the room as she flopped down on the second sofa, "is evil."

"I've got beef sausages on the go for you, Rach," said Helen, sounding much cheerier than she apparently felt.

"Thanks, hun!" Rachel had given up being vegan years ago after she had become dangerously anaemic to a point where all her supplements weren't helping. She was, however, still Jewish. She didn't exactly keep Kosher, but she didn't eat pork so David and Helen always made sure to have beef sausages in whenever Rachel was staying.

They had gone out to some of their favourite haunts in Liverpool last night and had drank far too much. Rachel had recently moved out of her London house, which she was renting out, and had moved to a flat in Cardiff so that she could film for _Doctor__Who_. After an almost two-year run in _Funny__Girl_, Rachel had gone into TV, mostly acting in period dramas but then, six months ago, she'd been asked to audition as the Doctor's new companion, Emma Curtis – a 19th century American socialite. She'd got the part and had recently started filming down in Wales. The night out in Liverpool was to take advantage of what was going to become a rare weekend with no filming, as well as to celebrate getting the job in the first place.

Dave was so incredibly proud of her – and not just because he, along with Helen, was a massive _Doctor__Who_fan. He felt that Rachel had worked so hard and that, while her dreams had changed since high school, she'd achieved all of them. That said, Dave wasn't doing to bad himself. The sports scheme he had said up in Liverpool four years ago had flourished into a nationwide not-for-profit organisation that helped young people develop through sport. David ran it from his head-office in Liverpool and, although he missed some of the more hands-on work with the kids, he enjoyed it and was immensely proud of what he had achieved.

He was once again pulled from his thoughts by Helen serving up sausage sandwiches. Squirting a huge blob of brown sauce on his own, he took a bite and felt it go to work on his hangover. By the sounds coming from Helen, Rachel and Chris – who was now awake – it was doing the same for them too.

"Sooooo... Who's this Adam you kept texting last night, Rach?" Helen enquired with a glint in her eye.

Rachel blushed. "Just a guy..."

Eager enquiry broke out from Dave and Helen until Rachel was forced, giggling, to give in.

"I met him on set. He's on the special effects team. We were doing a load of green screen bits and he was organising it. We just kind of... clicked. We've been on a couple of dates, he's very nice and we're just seeing how things go. Satisfied?"

"Do have to tell him I'm going to kick his ass if he hurts you?" Dave smirked.

"Not unless you want me to throw my sausage at you."

"Right," grumbled Chris, whose hangover appeared to be the worst. "I'm thinking finish the butties, get showered and head to the Ship for hair of the dog. It's after twelve so it doesn't make us alcoholics."

David nodded. "That's the best idea you've ever had."

ooo

Two hours later they had showered, dressed and braved the half-hour walk from Dave and Helen's flat to the city centre. It was a cold January afternoon but, oddly enough, the cold seemed to help the hangovers. The Ship & Mitre was Dave's favourite pub in Liverpool. Specialising in real ales it was always good for a pint of something tasty and unusual. Today was no exception. The four of them sat round a small table, Dave with a pint of ruby porter, Helen and Rachel with pints of strawberry beer, and Chris with a German lager. While not the healthiest hangover cure, the beer certainly was helping and they were all looking a little less green. The conversation was even beginning to flow again.

"So, Ms. Berry... This Adam... Do I have to tell Finn and Z to Facebook stalk him and check he's good enough for you?" Dave joked as Chris laughed and Helen punched him playfully in the arm.

"Mr. Karofsky, what exactly could Finn and Z do? Unless you're expecting Finn to tell me about his car and Azimio to bust some equal ops on his ass!" Rachel snorted with laughter.

It may not have seemed likely in high school, but Rachel had become good friends with Azimio Adams, much to Dave's delight. Rachel's "adoption" of Dave had endeared her to his best friend and Azimio had taken a vow never to bully anyone again. As good as his word, the jock had studied hard and had become a lawyer, working with Rachel's dads at their Lima firm which specialised in equal rights law. Despite everything, Rachel was also good friends with Finn. The diva had not wanted to make things awkward for Dave, who loved Finn like a brother so, after keeping a respectable distance post-break-up she had sought him out as a friend, had ended up bridesmaid at his wedding and godmother to his first child.

"You should count yourself lucky," Helen smiled. "Most girls would kill for three big brothers like those guys! Or, on second thoughts, maybe most girls would just kill their three big brothers if they were like those guys."

Rachel laughed and some strawberry beer came out of her nose while Dave pretended to look insulted before smiling fondly. "Seriously, Rach, just make sure he's good to you. You've dated too many losers. I want this guy to be a goodun, OK?" Rachel smiled and nodded while Helen and Chris pretended to wipe tears away. David glared at them. "Fuck off you two."

"Oh, bollocks!" This was Rachel's favourite word that she'd picked up since living in the UK and she used it at any given opportunity. "Is that the time? I need to be on my train in twenty minutes!"

"Rach, calm down!" Helen soothed. "The stations, like, five minutes from here."

"I'll walk you," volunteered Dave. "Helen, Chris, I'll meet you guys back here once Rachel's on her train, OK?"

"Cool beans," was Chris' still-slightly-hungover response as Helen gave Rachel a big hug.

A few minutes later and Dave and Rachel were braving the cold once more to walk across to Lime Street Station. "We need to find you someone." Rachel was blunt and to the point. Dave could tell she'd been worrying about him.

"I'm fine as I am, Rach."

"No you're not. You miss Darren. I can tell these things."

Darren was Dave's ex-boyfriend. They'd not been together in nearly a year but Rachel was right, Dave missed him. They'd met about three years ago when Rachel had managed to blag some tickets to _Strictly__Come__Dancing_. Darren was one of the professional dancers and Rachel had introduced him to Dave at the aftershow party. They had hit it off straight away. They had a similar sense of humour and liked a lot of the same things and Dave had a _very_great appreciation of Darren's lean, muscular dancer's body. Darren apparently enjoyed that Dave was built like a rugby player and the two embarked on a very passionate love affair. Their relationship had continued for two years despite the distance between their homes in London and Liverpool and they had been very much in love. However, then Darren had a call from the States to see if he wanted to join the professional team on _Dancing__With__The__Stars_and they had decided that the best thing to do was end it. Dave couldn't go to America and it was too great an opportunity for Darren to turn down. To end things was best for both of them. But that didn't mean it hadn't hurt.

"Yeah, I miss him, Rach. But I'm not still in love with him or anything. I mean, he was my first long term relationship, I'll always have a soft spot for him but we weren't soulmates or anything. If we were we'd have been able to compromise. I'm happy with us not being together. Honestly."

"I still maintain that you need a boyfriend. Finn's married to Lisa, Az has got Lauren, I _really_like Adam, and Helen and Chris are going to realise they're made for each other sooner or later. I just don't want you to end up on your own."

"I won't, Rach. It was hard getting over Darren but I'm back on the market now and I'm bound to meet someone eventually."

"You are. I mean, you're not _that_repulsive."

Rachel stuck out her tongue and Dave smirked and pushed her sideways as they found her platform. "Your train's boarding, Berry."

"Promise me you'll walk back into that pub and find the man you're meant to spend the rest of your life with?"

"I'll try."

"That's not good enough, David."

"OK, OK! I _promise_."

"That's better. Now, I really need to get on my train."

Dave and Rachel hugged for what seemed like an eternity before he made her promise to call him as soon as she arrived in Cardiff and they said their goodbyes.

Turning to leave the station, Dave reflected that he was always sad whenever he and Rachel parted. Considering he had hated her with a firey vengeance only eleven years ago it was odd to feel as if he'd lost a body part whenever she went away now.

He made the short walk back to the Ship & Mitre and found Helen and Chris sitting where he'd left them but was surprised to see that a third person had joined them. Dave could only see him from behind but it was a guy – tall and lean with impeccable dress sense and perfectly coiffed hair. Dave felt a jolt of recognition but quelled it. It couldn't possibly be _that_guy. He approached the table and Helen caught his eye and waved.

"Dave! This is the guy I was telling you about. He started his PhD in my department last October. His name's-"

"Kurt Hummel." Dave finished for her. The man had turned round and made eye contact with Dave. There was no denying it. It was Kurt in the flesh. Completely unchanged, just a decade older.

"How did you...? Oh." Realisation dawned on Helen's face. Dave had told her all about his past of course: the bullying, the death threat, the kiss. He had also told her all about Kurt's bad behaviour. Of course, he had never mentioned Kurt's surname – why would he? So why would Helen assume that some American guy called Kurt in her department would be _that_Kurt? But now her face was colouring red and even Chris was beginning to realise who this Kurt was, his eyes going wide.

Dave wanted to fill the awkward silence but he couldn't speak. His eyes were locked on Kurt's who was staring at him with an odd look that Dave couldn't read. Eventually, Kurt spoke. "Dave Karofsky... It's been... What? Ten years?"

"I need a drink." Dave replied, turning on his heel and heading to the bar. None of the anger he held toward Kurt had, it would seem, dissipated in the past ten years. Seeing him standing there, bold as brass, as if he had nothing to be ashamed of had riled Dave like nothing else. He needed to get away but he couldn't think of a decent excuse to leave so he ordered a beer (a strong one) and stayed at the bar.

Suddenly Kurt was at his elbow and speaking in that haughty, condescending tone that Dave remembered so well. "Look, David, I know why you're acting like this and it's OK. I'm totally over everything that went on between us in high school. I've forgiven you so it's about time you forgave yourself, don't you think?"

"What?" Dave wasn't quite sure he could believe what he was hearing.

"I was just saying-"

"I know what you were just saying, Hummel, I'm just having trouble believing it. You think I'm acting funny because of residual guilt over high school or some shit like that?" Kurt just stared back at him, wide-eyed. "Hummel, I apologised back then and you forgave me so why would I still be feeling bad about that? I'm pissed because you just waltz up to me like everything's fine when I had to pick up the shit you caused in other people's lives."

"I beg your pardon?"

"In college, when Finn and Rachel broke up – y'know, your step-brother and your best friend? What did you do?"

"I..."

"I'll tell you what you did. You send Rachel a pissy little text message that made her feel even worse. You didn't go to see her even though you were in the _same__city_. And then you _never_spoke to her again. And Finn? What did you do there? A quick phone call to say it was probably for the best before talking for half an hour about yourself and your boyfriend. Know how I know?"

"Um..."

"Because I was there. Right after I got back from comforting Rachel in New York I went round to your dad's house and saw Finn to check he was OK. You called while I was there. All Finn wanted was his brother to spend time with him, maybe go camping, drink some beers tell him it was all going to be alright. You stayed in New York and didn't come home until Thanksgiving – _five__months__later_."

Kurt looked close to tears but Dave rumbled on regardless. It felt good to get this off his chest. "What did I do? I took him camping. I went to bars with him. I introduced him to other girls and eventually I introduced him to Lisa. Who he married. Whose wedding you didn't go to. So, Hummel, if you think I'm acting out because of some shitty guilt hangover then you're wrong. I'm pissed at you because you have screwed over everyone in your life and don't even seem sorry for it. I just hope Blaine was worth it."

Having said all he could, Dave chugged back the rest of his pint and stormed from the pub. Leaving Kurt looking hurt and humiliated by the bar.

_A/N: OK so, Dave's rant was a bit, well, rantier than I expected but I hope this has set up an interesting dynamic in the Kurt/Karofsky relationship! I could've made this chapter a bit longer but, when I thought about what I want in the next chapter, it made more sense to break here._

_I know Helen and Chris are a bit underdeveloped at the moment but they'll become more prominent in future chapters. And, yes, Azimio's Lauren is Lauren Zizes. I have an idea for how they got together which I'll try to work into a future chapter. I'm not too interested in bringing in any further characters from the show but I might do if it serves the chapters later on. _

_For__those__based__in__the__US__who__don__'__t__know,_Strictly Come Dancing _is__the__show__that_Dancing With The Stars _was__based__on.__Darren__is__not__based__on__any__real__dancers__on__the__show__ – __he__'__s__a__complete__OC__although__he__probably__won__'__t__come__back__into__it__any__further__apart__from__the__odd__mention._


	3. Chapter 2

_Sorry it's taken so long to update! My computer died and I lost all of my fanfiction! I had loads of things on with uni then so this story got kind of side-tracked. I can't promise regular/frequent updates at the moment but hopefully not be as long next time!_

_Anyway, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review. I hope you enjoy this next chapter where there is a little bit o' smut so if you're not too keen, don't read._

**With A Little Help From My Friends**

**Chapter Two**

It was Wednesday and Dave had barely spoken to anyone since he had left the Ship & Mitre on Sunday. He'd briefly told Helen she had nothing to apologise for when she had returned to the flat, devastated that she had unwittingly reintroduced Kurt into Dave's life and he'd had a short chat with Rachel when she had called, after being filled in on events by Helen.

"Perhaps you should give him a chance, Dave." Rachel had suggested almost shyly.

"Give him a chance? After the way he acted?"

"That was nearly ten years ago, sweetie. People change. They move on. Kurt treated me and Finn horribly but that doesn't mean he hasn't changed now. I mean, Finn must hear from him, mustn't he?"

"Only irregularly over email or the odd call. Kurt never went to his wedding and he's only visited them a few times since Lou was born. And Lou's four now."

"Helen said he seemed nice. Until she knew who he was, anyway."

"Well, obviously he's nicer to strangers than he is his own family and friends." Dave snapped. "Look, you might have forgiven him for what he did to you but I love you and I love Finn and I can't just forgive what he did that easy."

"Is all this anger not just because you loved him in high school, had him on a pedestal even, and he disappointed you?"

"Let's not go there, Rachel."

Rachel had known better than to push it and eventually changed the subject. But, David had to admit, she'd been right. David had been crazy about Kurt in high school. Not only was he hotter than a hot day in Hell, but he was smart, talented, funny, kind, generous, forgiving and generally amazing. Dave had worshipped him. So when Kurt had actually turned out to be a complete douche, Dave's faith had shattered. And now here he was, living in Liverpool, working alongside one of Dave's best friends and Dave wasn't quite sure how to deal with that.

So he retreated.

He stayed quiet, didn't really talk and got lost in his work. And that's why on Wednesday afternoon he found himself sitting in Leaf, drinking tea and drafting a presentation for a fundraising drive on his iPad. He was so engrossed that he didn't see the slender, elfin-looking man until he was sitting down opposite him.

"That seat's taken," Dave growled.

"No it isn't," Kurt retorted. "Helen told me you'd be here working. Alone."

"Helen told you?" Dave made a mental note to hide each and every one of his flatmate's shoes when he got home.

"I saw her in the library this morning. She's worried about you. She told me in no uncertain terms that whatever's wrong with you is probably my fault and I need to make it right or she'd castrate me and feed my manhood to a cat." Dave smirked in spite of himself. Kurt seemed to take this as a good sign and continued. "You said a lot of things on Sunday and pretty much all of them were true. If I were you I'd hate me but I do think I have a right to explain myself. Maybe if you hate me a little less then you won't be as angry. And if you're not as angry your friend won't turn me into cat food."

"I really don't think you could have anything to say that I want to hear, Hummel. You hurt people who are very dear to me."

"I'm not asking you to forgive me or anything. Just to… understand."

Dave looked at Kurt and noticed for the first time that the man looked as if he hadn't slept in days. He looked haggard and had big dark shadows under his eyes. In fact, he looked just how Dave felt. The bigger man felt a sudden surge of pity mixed with curiosity. "OK, Hummel, go ahead. But if you piss me off I'm walking out. Understood?"

Kurt nodded and took a deep breath. "What a lot of people don't know was that in senior year of high school, Blaine cheated on me with some guy from his old school. Sebastian. Apparently it went on for about six weeks but I only found out when I went to his house to surprise him one afternoon and found him on all fours with Sebastian's cock up his ass."

David choked on his tea and nearly spat it all over Kurt. "Thanks, Hummel, that's a mental image I'm stuck with now." Kurt blushed. "OK, so he cheated on you. Why didn't you just leave him?"

"He begged me not to. He ended things with Sebastian and told me it had just been sex. It didn't mean anything. I was mortified. I'd been going on to everyone about my perfect boyfriend and perfect relationship and the thought of having to tell everyone I'd been wrong was humiliating. Plus, I figured I could either stay with Blaine or be alone. I didn't want to be alone. So I made him promise he'd never stray again and I stayed. Except I couldn't really trust him so I made it my business to dominate his every waking moment."

"That's why you were always so wrapped up in each other?"

"Yes. I was determined not to let him out of my sight and this continued when we went to New York. The reason I didn't visit Rachel or Finn when they split was I felt I couldn't leave Blaine alone. Especially because Sebastian was in New York as well. Blaine and I were both at Columbia, he was at NYU. I was totally ashamed of myself though. That's why I stayed away from Rachel _and _Finn after it happened. I couldn't face them. But I was obsessed. I needed to keep an eye on Blaine so he wouldn't stray again."

"So what happened?"

"A few weeks into our sophomore year I caught Blaine and Sebastian in mine and Blaine's bed. Turns out they'd never broke up back in school. Blaine had been scared for my mental health and so had stayed with me out of pity. Sebastian tolerated it because he loved Blaine. They'd been sneaking moments together for nearly two years. But when I caught them this time, they told me the truth. Blaine told me he was going to leave and he'd be moving in with Sebastian and I was left alone."

"But why didn't you contact Rachel? Or tell Finn? That was, like, eight years ago, Hummel. As far as I can tell, Finn thinks you're still _with_ Blaine."

"I was humiliated. Everyone knew about Kurt Hummel's perfect life with perfect Blaine Anderson. I couldn't bring myself to tell them I was wrong. That I'd been wrong twice. I didn't outright lie. I just never told them Blaine and I had broken up. If my dad or Finn would ask how he was, I just said 'fine.' It was the truth, after all. My dad and Finn never liked Blaine much anyway, so it wasn't like they ever asked to speak to him."

"But, didn't you meet anyone else?"

"No. Blaine put me off. He said he loved me and he lied to me. He hurt me. If that's what love and relationships brings then I don't want a part of it."

"So… You've been, like, _celibate_? For _eight _years?"

Kurt gave a wry smile. "I get by. Anyway, I somehow dragged myself through college. Blaine transferred to NYU to be with Sebastian and I stayed at Columbia and majored in film."

"Film?" David was genuinely surprised. "I thought you were into all that theatre stuff."

"I was. But I took a few film courses and enjoyed it so switched majors. Theatre reminded me too much of Blaine. After college I didn't know what to do. I stayed in New York and got an admin job in my old department at Columbia. I worked at that for two years when a scholarship place came up on a Masters in Film. I applied and got it. I specialised in costume and make up design and three years later I graduated. I worked a few jobs on film sets but then my tutor got in touch saying there was a fully funded PhD scholarship at Liverpool in the UK to research British costume dramas. It was kind of my specialty area so I applied, got in and a few months ago I moved over here."

"So, what? Your family think Blaine's with you."

"No. I told them that Blaine and I had split. I was maybe a bit vague with the _when_. But they know he's not around anymore. Look, the reason I'm telling you all this is so you know that the reason I hurt Rachel and Finn and everyone else was because I was so wrapped up in myself I couldn't see anything else. It's not an excuse but I wasn't right in the head at that time. And then I stayed away because I was ashamed. Finn's forgiven me. I visited him, Lisa and Lou at Christmas."

"I haven't spoke to him since before that."

"I gathered as much. My problems are my problems, David Karofsky, but if I'm going to be living in the same city as you, and working alongside your best friend then I'd really like for you not to hate me."

"I don't… hate you. You just… you just made me angry."

"I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for high school. When you came out, when your parents abandoned you. I should have been there for you. I was one of the only people who could have any idea what you were going through and I acted like you didn't exist. I let you down."

"You didn't owe me anything. And anyway, it wasn't like I was alone. I had Rachel and Finn and Az."

Kurt smiled and Dave realised it was genuine. "I'm glad you've done well. Seems ironic that you ended up the happy, well-adjusted gay and I, well, I didn't."

"I think you'll be fine, Kurt. Helen's a good girl who probably won't feed your genitals to a cat. Well… Maybe a little bit. If you're working with her you'll have a best friend in no time."

Kurt smiled again but this one seemed a little… disappointed? "Thanks, David. Anyway, look, I'll see you around, OK? Thanks for listening."

And with that, Kurt was gone.

ooo

"So I'm allowed to be friends with him now then?" Helen was smirking annoyingly at David as she stood by the stove frying off mince for a lasagne.

"You were allowed to be friends with him anyway, you daft cow. I'd never tell you who you could and couldn't be friends with."

"I know. But I wouldn't _want _to be friends with him if I knew he upset you. You're my bestie. But now I _can _be friends with him it's all good. He's the only other PhD student in my department with dress sense. I need him in my life, Dave."

Helen was what David liked to think of as a typical Scouse girl. Never seen without make up, always glamorous and would get dressed up for the opening of an envelope. He wouldn't have her any other way though – even if it did mean waiting an hour to get in the bathroom every morning. Thinking about it, she was actually a female version of Kurt.

"So…"

"So what, Hels?" Dave knew that tone. Helen wanted something.

"So would you mind if I invited him to our party on Saturday?"

Dave hesitated. He didn't mind Kurt hanging out with Helen, but he wasn't sure he wanted to socialise with him himself. But then, he didn't want Helen to have to tiptoe around him either. "No problem, Helen. Course you can invite him. You don't have to ask."

Helen looked at him sceptically but no more was said.

ooo

Later that night, Dave lay in bed thinking about Kurt. Part of the problem, the part he would only admit to himself late at night when no one else was around, was that he was still attracted to the man. Kurt was even better looking now than he had been in high school. Less baby-faced, more masculine and a bit more lean muscle.

He was _exactly _Dave's type and he couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to feel that hard, slender body pressed against his own, to feel those hot, full lips gliding over his mouth, his jaw, his neck. He imagined long, perfectly manicured fingers gripping him, stroking him, and without even realising he was doing it, Dave wrapped his own fingers around his arousal and began to stroke, picking up a rhythm.

He imagined Kurt's mouth latching on to one of his nipples, sucking hard in just the way he liked while his hands played with Dave's substantial cock and balls. Kurt would murmur all of the things he wanted Dave to do to him – _fuck me, take me, make me yours _– and would pull one of Dave's hands round, inviting him to prepare him.

"Oh fuck!" Dave groaned as he came hard all over his hand and stomach.

Of course, he thought as he searched for tissues, the worst part was that he would never do anything about it and Kurt wasn't interested in relationships anyway. Saturday night was going to be hell…


End file.
